AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My brows narrowed in confusion. What was going on? He had a smirk of epic proportions on his face. His arms were crossed. Smug. Satisfied. Like maybe he thought he’d won our little sparring battle? As if. No, that wasn’t quite right. It was like he was about to witness the greatest show on earth. Or maybe it was that he was about to witness my downfall. Like I was about to get steamrolled. What. The. Fuck?
Then the steamroller hit.
Mother.
She was here. On the phone with me, but also right in front of me. In the flesh.
What. The. Absolute. Fuck!
“Mom?” My mouth hung open in shock.
“Baby!” She squeezed me in her arms in one of those warm, swaying hugs. “I’m so happy to see you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“Mom, I’ve missed you, too. What are you doing here in California? Is Dad here?” I whipped my head around, searching for my dad.
My mom waved her hand. “He’s busy hauling all our suitcases up to your apartment, but I couldn’t wait, so I came down here to find the coffee shop and surprise you.”
“Oh, wow.” I bit my lip. “This is such a great surprise.”
I had been vaguely aware of the sexy Irish guy watching our little reunion with interest. I really didn’t want him to bear witness to the shitshow when my mom discovered my fake-boyfriend fib. The line had moved up so that we were almost in the door now. If I wanted to retain any shred of pride, I needed to get my mother out of there now.
But, of course, my mother was always two steps ahead of me. Before I could make a move, she turned to the hot Irish stranger and beamed at him. “You must be…”
I blushed. I winced. I opened my mouth to say … what? How could I stop this disaster in the making? Think, Summer. Quick!
“Scotty.” He offered his hand to my mother.
“Scotty!” My mother was a hugger. Scotty didn’t stand a chance. She enveloped him in a big embrace. “My daughter has told me so much about you!”
I snorted. I purposefully had only told her about three things in total about my fake boyfriend.
My mother took a step back from him and looked him over critically. “And she wasn’t kidding!”
His smile lit his eyes. He was clearly amused. And he had two dimples, which were like my kryptonite.
Oh, My God. Shoot me now.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs....” his voice trailed off.
“Oooh. You can call me Lara.” She turned to me and squeezed my arm. “You forgot to mention that Scotty has such a lovely accent, sweetie.”
Suddenly, Scotty was at my side. His arm wrapped possessively around me, and he pulled me flush against his hard body. “Sweetie, you didn’t tell your mum where I’m from?”
How was I supposed to stop this nonsense? It was like a slow-motion train wreck. I swallowed. “Right. I can’t believe I forgot to mention it. Scotty is from Ireland.”
Scotty sniggered. “Oh, my wee bumpkin. How many times have I told you?” He actually kissed the top of my head. “I’m from Scotland.”
My mother frowned. “Bumpkin?”
Scotty didn’t hesitate. “It’s a term of endearment in Scotland. She actually prefers to be called Lassie as a pet name, but I like to call her my wee bumpkin … My Bouncy Bumpkin. Because she’s so … bouncy.”
Bouncy Bumpkin? I was ready to knee him in the balls. “And I call him…” I could never think quickly on my feet. “Limpie Pie.”
Mom scrunched her nose. “Limpie Pie?”
I held up my pointer finger and then slowly cricked it until it drooped. “It’s an inside joke.”
“Oh, I see.” Mom gave Scotty the side-eye.
